G2.1.26

postpluves An uneventful first week. She’s in reused soil, and I’m going to test feeding every watering with this girl. Should I try some more severe training on her, or just hinder her as little as possible as she gets a prime spot right under the light when she reaches flower? A net isn’t my style as there’s also non-cannabis plants in the tent, so maybe I should wait with real funky stuff until I run some photos.

postpluves 13.04 So timeblind I thought it was still March for a sec there. So far between the RQS Milky Way F1 (G1.1.26) and this RQS Medusa F1, it seems like there’s a cute little leaf wobble in the first set of true leaves. Curious to see if that holds for the other Medusa seeds I’ve got too! Judging by the node spacing, I’m counting on this being another bushy girl with plenty of leaves and thick ass stem and branches, so I’m considering some more rigorous training to keep everything evenly lighted and spaced apart. I know they’re hardy plants, but I’ve seen so much scaremongering about giving autos a more stressful training, I’m kind of doubting if I should… I bet it would be easy enough to do, but maybe the additional time to harvest wouldn’t be worth it, considering we’re on a deadline with this one.

postpluves 20.04 Happy birthday to weed! This week’s been one full of consternation. I topped Medusa (not my usual style) and applied some training in an attempt to guide the branches where I want them. After all, can’t be Medusa if she’s not snakehaired. Also did some unintentional high stress training because the cat jumped on my back in the tent, and I broke one of Medusa’s secondary branches in stopping my stumble. (I know, don’t let cats in your tent, but you try telling a Maine Coon you’re not involving them in whatever you’re doing.) Had a good long think about whether or not to top, but in the end figured I might as well. I’m doing this for fun, and while it’s also about being self-sufficient, there will be another grow, so why the hell not try something new! Worst that can happen is that I learn something.

postpluves 27.04 A busy week that consisted mostly of tying and retying my plant ties a hundred times, breaking some sprouting secondaries, and defoliation. No special tools, treating her with no more ceremony than a tomato plant, which occasionally means just using your nail to cut off petioles. Not sure if what I’m doing still counts as LST, because I am kind of tying her down pretty hardcore. In general though, if anyone ever tells you you can’t top an auto, tell them not with that attitude. Living proof.

postpluves 05.05 Medusa is taking to training like a champ. Pretty sure this will mean that I’ll have to ask a friend to water her when I’m in Berlin, but it is how it is. That said, she’s building up flower! Another beautiful girl in our house. Something something that Eve’s Bush joke from Disjointed. My routine for her consists mostly of checking her soil for watering, and making sure the branches don’t get into one anothers’ ways, and that all the bud sites get at least some direct light. Practically, this has meant defoliation station. She doesn’t seem to mind though, and I’m curious to see if pH was indeed the early flower issue I had with G1.1.26. Considering it stopped occuring once I started pH adjusting, it’s likely, but to really prove something it needs to be repeated. We’ll see!

postpluves 11.05 Medusa is growing fast, with the flower sites popping up full force, while also making her stretch. I’m trying to keep the canopy roughly even, but mostly I spend 10-15 minutes every other day fiddling with my wires to see if actually tying them different matters. Still defoliating to make sure all flower sites get at least some light. DLI sits at 25-35, and from this coming week onward I’m feeding more per feed. Trichomes are appearing on some leaves, and they smell like fresh, juicy citrus, so I’m excited to see how she grows and matures!

postpluves 18.05 Another week down, and Medusa’s a thirsty growing girl! I think I watered her 3-4 times this past week, and have started watering in bigger volumes than 1L per go. Plus, more nutrients! We’ve tried minimum recommended dose, let’s see what maximum effort looks like. (And potentially a future learning moment about nutrient toxicity, only one way to find out!) I’ve also been bending select stems and letting others go as needed, mostly to make sure there’s plenty of light everywhere. This is also why I’ve been defoliating, especially on the inside of the plant’s perimeter, so to say. Obviously light is life for a plant, but sometimes sacrifices need to be made. Nose is developing into something like orange hard candy for now (specifically the ones my nan used to stock), though I know there is more underneath that opening note. She’s also sticky, with leaves getting coated in trichomes, and my hands coming away just a little bit sticky when I’ve been tending her. The tent suffered with fungus gnats a little the past few weeks, brought in by a friend who gifted a bunch of friends some of her surplus pepper seedlings. I probably should have quarantined them, but on the upside, yummy snacks for the resident Drosera. That said, they seem to be on the losing hand, as I keep optimising my Drosera’s predatory capacities. (I sort of hold her up close to the light and move her around until she catches all the wee bastards buzzing around the fake sun.)

postpluves 25.05 I was doing really good with my watering schedule, but then skipped one just as we were heading into some hot weather up to 30C. She doesn’t seem too bothered though, beyond some dried leaf tips. That said, with the temperature in the house rising, so does the temperature in the tent. Unless I figure something out to keep the temperatures down, I don’t think that spells much good for the coming summer months, but maybe we’ll have a mild one. Fingers crossed. And, as Mary Jane comes closer, I wonder if our gorgon will finish in time for me to chop before Berlin. I’m starting to worry about it just a little, because she’s doing well for sure, but unless she pulls a lot of growth in the next week and a half, it’ll be a case of either asking our cat sitting friend to water her with pre-made solution, or chop her early. Only time can tell. On to the next week!

postpluves 01.06 Happy Pride! The tenperatures have come down a little bit in the past days, and despite some yellow tips in the branches closest to the light, no other issues. Still defoliating to make sure most flower sites get some even lighting. Starting from today I’ll be halving the amount of nutrients to 2mL/L per watering, not quite flushing, but definitely a sign to start wrapping it up, because ideally this coming week is her last. She’s also sticky as ever, and the leaves that brush against the flowers when I’m tending have glossy patches on them from the trichomes. One test bud cut today, we’ll see how she turns out in the coming few days. Give her a test smoke, and hopefully chop her before Mary Jane next week!

postpluves On the fourth day of Pride, my true love gave to me… one fully harvested plant! Oh Medusa, Medusa, my snakehaired beauty. I know men are awful, but have you considered a woman might treat you right? 🏳️‍🌈 Never let anyone tell you you can’t top autoflowers, because it seems like they actually like getting topped! (You and I both, queen.) Buds are quite thick, and all over the plant, in fairly even sizes. Having pH dialed in from the start probably helped quite a but, and the fact that she got maximum nutrients for most of her time in the tent definitely can’t have hurted. Harvest blows anything else so far out of the water, and I’m curious how she dries up. Just in time for Mary Jane :3